Prisoner to MY Madness
by Rin0rourke
Summary: After a horrible incident at school Daniel Fenton flees to Axion Labs to confide in his parents, only to be a victim of a Terrorist Attack. Now, two years later he still carries the scars of the incident.
1. A New Epidemic?

_**Summary:**_ **After a horrible incident at school Daniel Fenton flees to Axion Labs to confide in his parents, only to be a victim of a Terrorist Attack. Now, two years later he still carries the scars of the incident. Without friends, without a family, without even his memories, he harbors malice and mistrust against the world and its inhabitants, slowly devouring him inside without his notice, until he meets a new transfer student, Dash Baxter, who opens his eyes to the world around him and the possibilities. The wonderfully deadly possibilities. What has Dash gotten himself into?**

**_Amity Park Angle_**

PHANTOM VIRUS  
COULD ANOTHER EPEDEMIC BE AROUND THE CORNER?

* * *

The Mayor addressed a very serious issue this afternoon concerning the research of a newfound pathogen being held in Axion Labs.

The Phantom Virus(TPV) as it has been dubbed was originally discovered by the scientists Jack and Maddie Fenton along with their colleague Vlad Masters in 1987 while studying hospital patients who suffered symptoms such as Viral Hemorrhagic Fever and Myelitis that did not coincide with their diagnosis soon after arriving at the hospital. The patients suffered severe pain in their central nervous system, many dying from blood loss as it was excreting from various orifices. The doctors treating these patients fell ill with the same symptoms almost as soon as they entered the room, leaving many medical personal rooted in the hallways with fear.

It took years of research and study before the cause of this horrifying incident was to be placed on the shoulders of an airborne virus that would come to be known as The Phantom. The ghostly name was given by the three collage graduates who were quarantined during their study of the patients. Later coming to realize their airtight hazmat suites, a fashion they had taken to wearing while studying, "just for the fun of it" said Jack Fenton, had protected them against the threat of the disease. Using the resources in the medical facility they were forced to remain in they discovered that the virus entered not through the mouth, nose, or eyes, but through the very pores in the skin.

Once inside the body the virus wasted no time in infecting the immune system, turning white blood cells against the host, causing them to attack the nervous system.

" The effects were like those out of a nightmare," Said Maddie during a 1989 interview, "people were bleeding out of nowhere, just gushing from the eyes and ears and noses, some falling down screaming and clawing at themselves, their backs arched painfully before going still, it didn't take long for them to die in comparison with most diseases, but three hours of your very nervous system being under attack from your own cells was hell. The only true blessing during all of this was that in the last legs of infection the body was basically numb."

After almost a week in quarantine the trio of scientists were running out of air and unable to eat or drink for fear of infection; it seamed they would soon die anyway when suddenly they noticed virus begin to die, unable to find living hosts and mutating far beyond the ability to maintain is molecular structure, ending the largest TPV outbreak in history.

Although there have been similar outbreaks over the years the most haunting thing that plagues the citizens of Amity Park and all those who hear the story is that of all the patients, the doctors, medical staff, and emergency workers who were infected, none survived, and in the end maybe it was for the best, if any did live they'd be little more than vegetables, unable to move, unable to eat or breath on their own or even to think comprehensibly, the majority of their nervous system turned to mulch.

Now for the past few months Axion labs has held a multiplying sample of TPV in a high security lab, looking to continue the research, however many in Amity Park worry over having such a deadly pathogen so near their homes and families.

A spokesperson from Axion Labs stated at the press conference that with the security in the lab, developed by Amity Park's own Damon Gray, a viral outbreak isn't only improbable, it's impossible. "Each of the thirteen scientists working on this must undergo strenuous background and credit checks before hiring, random drug and alcohol checks every month, as well as having to carry their own keycards, pin numbers, and entrance codes." Guards are said to patrol the hallways twice every half hour and once inside the lab the scientists take an hours length in washing, sanitizing, gearing up, and doing special equipment checks before keying in another variety of special codes to enter the main lab where a three inch wall of glass separates them from the actual virus sample.

"Even if the virus were to escape its holding cell and get past the glass and airlocks in the lab, the entire wing of the facility is cut off from the rest of the buildings and the security is programmed to lock down and quarantine the entire wing should a breach occur." said the Axion Spokesperson. "This isn't the first dangerous substance we've handled and if we have our way it won't be the last. We're working towards a cure for the Phantom Virus as well as many others, and to do that we have to know more about what we're fighting against."

The Mayor claims to support Axion and its goals, and even with the deaths of hundreds to its name The Phantom Virus spreads little actual fear in Amity Park. The Mayor states that "Axion has never steered this city wrong before..." and that in times of need has "always pulled through." He goes on to say that "We should return the trust and devotion the fine scientists have placed upon Amity Park with our own trust. Trust that they will continue to protect our city and its citizens from illness and disease as it has been doing all these years."

* * *

A/N: Is it just me or is Axion labs starting to sound like Umbrella from Resident Evil? I haven't seen the thrid movie yet but I hear its kickass. Gotta watch it, maybe it'll help me get over the plot suckage of Resident Evil four, the gaming was win I'll admit, but dammit the plot was worse than Outbreak!

Anyway, this is the very beginning of my once-was-a-one-shot Prisoner to my Madness. This was the first of a series of articles from the Amity Park Angle, they may not seem like much now, but later on they play a big part in facts and such, so unless I put this up you'll get real confused and be asking me really irritating questions. So read and remember, its plot, plot is good. Dammit just nod your head and say yes! OBEY ME! Next article coming when I feel like it. I still got PO and others to work on. This is unofficially an indulgence fic, meaning though I already have everything planned out and even the first draft written and finished to the end, there's no telling when I'll actually get around to editing and posting it.;P

Also, I don't know what the Mayor's name is, if anyone can tell me I'll be very greatfull.

As with many of my fics that involve medical stuffs I should probably explain the terminology used here. These are pretty much copy and paste definitions, though most are in my own words.

Pathogen is something that can cause disease, e.g. a bacterium or a virus.

Diagnosis is the identifying of an illness or disorder in a patient through physical examination, medical tests, or other procedures.

In general, the term "viral hemorrhagic fever"(VHF) is used to describe a severe multisystem syndrome, meaning multiple organ systems in the body are affected and the overall vascular system (fluid-carrying vessels, e.g. blood vessels) is damaged.

Signs and symptoms vary by the type of VHF, but often include fever, fatigue, dizziness, muscle aches, loss of strength, and exhaustion. Patients with severe cases of VHF often show signs of shock, nervous system malfunction, coma, delirium, seizures, and bleeding under the skin, in internal organs, or from body orifices like the mouth, eyes, or ears. However, although they may bleed from many sites around the body, patients rarely die because of blood loss. While some types of these viruses can cause relatively mild illnesses, many cause severe, life-threatening disease.

Myelitis is a neurologic syndrome caused by inflammation of the spinal cord. A friend of mine had this, I mainly know some signs include limb weakness, bowel and bladder dysfunction, and back pain.

If you read down to this bottom line, tell me in a review and I'll make you a one of the nameless characters in the fic. No reall reason, I'm just in desperate need of names for people. :D


	2. Incident Report

Danny sat in one of the hardback chairs outside the vice principal's office, the ones that felt like they were specifically designed to torment students waiting to be disciplined, cold and hard and unyielding. The secretary was trying her hardest to ignore him, shuffling papers, picking up the phone then, after a pause, placing it back on the holder. The pretty health clerk wasn't looking at him either as she shuffled through a first aid bag she brought to help clean him up. He didn't want to go to the nurses office, didn't want to see those people in there, sick or hurt or faking, looking at him and suddenly feeling like their pains weren't so bad.

He didn't want to be someone's example.

He was shivering uncontrollably, never mind that the thermostat read eighty-two degrees, he wrapped his arms around himself but the nurse's aid told him not to, she had to clean the bites on his arm, which had been tied to his mouth to keep him silent. He could still taste the blood; it hadn't been that long ago.

He shook his head when she told him to press an icepack against his right eye, for the swelling, or something. She was getting agitated, she didn't want to be the one helping him, didn't want to be helping him here, in the vice principals office, where students who were deemed as troublemakers always went. She, like everyone else so far, didn't want to acknowledge what had happened.

She squeezed the little blue baggy in her hands like a rag, looking around the little office connecting to Mr. Lancer's own larger one, her eyes never actually staying on anything. She looked over to the secretary who was still buried behind her desk, pretending to be busy with referrals and phone calls, though she hadn't actually put any calls through. She looked to the teens sitting in the other chairs, no one looking over at them, but some glancing curiously out of the corner of their eyes, wondering what happened, too young to tell the signs. She looked to the closed door to Mr. Lancer's office, willing it to open. Looking for help, anywhere, because she didn't know how to handle this situation, because though she could help bandage the bloody wounds on the outside, the ones she and everyone could see, but couldn't help with the ones that really counted. Wouldn't even acknowledge them.

It was obvious no one was prepared to deal with him, or what happened.

He looked down at the paper in his lap, attached to a worn brown clipboard with all kinds of obscenities etched into the wood. At the top of the page, in big black letters, were the words 'Incident Report.'

The secretary had handed it to him instructing him to write out in detail his version of the fight, without looking directly at him, like if she did she would turn to stone, or loose her mind, or worse, she would have to admit that something horrible really did happen to him, that he didn't just get into a fight. That something neither he or she or anybody else could control or explain or prevent. She would have to acknowledge that it was all real, that something so horrible happened not only by students at the school, but here in the school, in the locker room. This was supposed to be a safe place, a good place, with good people. She wouldn't accept something like this, she couldn't.

No one wanted to see, to accept, that this was possible, so they pretended it wasn't.

The pretty little nurse's aid finally huffed and shoved the icepack back into the bag, walking over to the secretary, willing to aid in the distraction, both of them pretending to be busy so they wouldn't have to see him or his pain or his trauma. It was easier this way, easier to just slap a bandage on the wound and hand out some aspirin then to say there is a serious problem and operate, let them find a different doctor to tell them, this way you don't have to get involved. This way, you don't have to care. It doesn't have to be your fault anymore, though you weren't involved, it doesn't have to be your guilt.

Guilt that you're okay, and someone else isn't.

With a shaking hand Danny picked up the pen and started writing, describing a fight, a imaginary scene that everyone wanted to hear, the fictitious incident that put him here, in this office, with anxious adults all around him wringing their hands in worry as he dripped blood on the linoleum floor.

Barely a paragraph in his hands ripped the paper from the clipboard in disgust, crumbling it up and tossing in on the floor where his sneaker stomped it and all its lies into the tile. Taking up the pen again he began to write what really happened, everything, from the time they were separated into groups to when he blacked out on the locker-room floor.

It took up five of the incident report sheets, his handwriting was far from legible, his hands shaking, jotting down words resembling that of a second grader's, but he was satisfied, at least in a small bit, that he had gotten it down without crying, though his nose ran a bit.

Wiping his nose with his arm he picked the pen up, trying to read what he had written in case he forgot anything. But the wetness on his wrist wasn't snot, but blood.

His nose had started to bleed again.

He stared at the blood, one eye bloodshot and swollen, distorted it significantly, until it was just a blurred red smudge across his vision. But his other eye, his good eye, could see it clearly, too clearly, it and every other bit of blood covering him, the blood and the rips in his cloths and how much everything hurt. He could see it all, like he wasn't in his body, but rather floating up in the corner, near the ceiling, looking down on the person sitting there shivering who was him, yet not him. He could never look so alone and helpless and beaten, never, not him. Not him.

He could see how dingy his hair looked, how messy and unclean, its shiny gloss was faded, tarnished, like the shiny armor of nights and warriors after a battle, never to be cleaned again. So filthy, he stared down, hating his hair and its filthiness.

He suddenly didn't want to read over what he had written, didn't want anybody to read what he had written. Even. Their eyes, their disgusted, withdrawn, pitying eyes, hovering in front of his blurring vision, hovering around his head, his filthy unclean hair, they'll see his dirty, messy hair and they'll know. They'd never look at him again, like the nurse, like the secretary, like all the students in the office with him, gazes averted, eyes only glancing out at him when they were sure he wouldn't see, they'd always have those pitying looks, but he'd never see, because they would never meet his eyes, never let him catch their gaze and turn them to stone like some crazy ancient gorgon with grimy hair, so unclean that snakes nested in it. He didn't want snakes in his hair; he'd have to cut it all off. Cut it off and pretend that it was never massy to begin with.

Carefully he opened the clip and pulled the papers out, removing all five pages with such gentle care they may as well have been ancient papyrus scrolls, fragile, withered, sacred.

He couldn't bring himself to crumble them up like he did to the lies. These were the truth, you couldn't just crumble up the truth, you couldn't, he couldn't. If he did that, he would be admitting that it never happened like everyone else; it would all be crumbled up, everything, even him. He couldn't do it. Not to these papers. Not to the truth. He just couldn't.

Setting the papers aside he took a calming breath and started writing, writing those lies, the ones everyone wanted him to write, the ones everyone wanted to believe, wanted him to believe. It was easier this time, because he had the truth, right there, next to him, and that was all he needed.

The truth.

* * *

Second part, article coming tomorrow, if not, then Saturday, yeah definitely Saturday, let's go with that.

Danny looking down on his hair proclaiming it filthy and un-washable illustrates his feelings towards his body as a whole, later on you'll notice how much he ends up hating his hair, subconsciously confining all the self-loathing over this incident to that particular attribute. I'd like to leave it for you all to pick up on, but there's so many undertones and analogies that I can sacrifice one for your clarity.

There will be three articles, each separated by a short chapter describing events that happen in between them, totaling five parts, all are the prologue. The first chapter will say 'First Chapter', and will be the sixth update.

For those who never saw the blatant pimping of PTMM around the internet since December 2006, (a surprisingly large amount, not all of it from me -.-) I'll tell you right now this has been in the works for some time, originally supposed to debut in June 2007 some complications has us chopping the rather enormous one-shot into pieces and revising a majority of the story.

Like much of the things I'm doing lately, aside from PO and Strangest Things, this is basically completed, just needing tweaks, but with my hectic life I have hardly any time to even do tweaks.


	3. A New Tragedy

Amity Angle

June 8th

A Tragedy Wracks the Quiet Little City of Amity Park.

Thursday evening disaster struck down hard on the high security building at Axion Labs. A large explosion in one of the labs inside shook the whole compound, setting off the security system that held over a hundred people captive in their offices and labs for over three hours.

The explosion is speculated to have come from the disconnected building that houses the delicate and lethal substances many scientists have been researching, including the deadly Phantom Virus. Rescue workers are attempting to shift through the rubble, but progress is moving slowly as more and more specialists are called in to neutralize whatever harmful substances may have been released.

The city and Axion's management are apprehensive, sparing no expense to have this disaster resolved cleanly, and with the upmost care. Their spokesperson said at this afternoon's press meeting that though they have found no fault in the system, they're still looking into what caused the explosion. They will not let this incident slide by without a thorough investigation.

Most scientists have been accounted for, as few work late due to Axion's worker's policy. Among those still missing, however, are the scientists Jack and Maddie Fenton and their two children Jasmine and Daniel. The Fentons were two of the three original scientists to discover, contain, and study the Phantom Virus and are said to often work late in the labs with their children.

We are all hoping that this incident is nothing but a fault in the system. But as the Fentons remain missing, more and more speculative talk turns towards them.

And while close friends and relatives cling to each other hoping to not find corpses in the ruble, no one denies that secretly we all hope they do.

More as events progress…


	4. After the Fact

"Are you sure you'll be okay?" Lancer asked his young charge as he stopped the car in front of the large, imposing building.

Daniel halted in his escape from the vehicle, his hand resting on the door handle, and turned to face his future vice principal and teacher, giving him a wane smile. "I'll be fine. I'm here very night."

"Daniel." Lancer took his hand off the wheel and reached for Daniel's own, shakier one. "We'll work through this. No matter what anybody else says, I'll make sure something is done."

Daniel's plastered smile faltered a moment but he strung it back up. "I know you will Mr. Lancer," pulling his hand from the balding teachers grasp he opened the door and left the car.

"I'll be stopping by your house tomorrow Mr. Fenton!" Lancer called out the open window. "We'll continue this discussion then, but for now, talk to your parents."

Leaning in through the window Daniel looked right at him. "Mr. Lancer I…" Were those tears? Of course they were, after what happened. Daniel was just a child after all, he may come from a prominent, intellectual family but he was still just a child.

"Daniel, talk to them tonight, don't wait for tomorrow." He paused a moment, not sure if he should put the question forth again, as Daniel had adamantly refused before but… "Are you sure you don't want me there with you?"

Daniel snapped up, Lancer was almost amazed he hadn't hit his head on the roof of the car, but he pulled clear of the window easily. "No, that's fine." He said, taking a step back, away from the comfort and protection of the car and out into the cold night air. The open night air. "I can do this; I have to, by myself. I have to." And he turned away, walking towards the doors and the watch guards posted.

Mr. Lancer watched him until he disappeared into the building. Until he was sure no unseen predator would swoop down and grab him up and take him off. He was such a fragile, scared little boy, shaken by today's events, torn by what happened to him.

He drove away, back home, to his warm, empty, yet cozy house. Back to peace and quiet and safety. Back to something Daniel Fenton didn't have, comfort, because his security, his belief in the goodness of the world, was torn by four idiot jocks on the fast track to the gutters.

Nothing like that should ever happen to anyone, least of all such a small, delicate child.

* * *

Yes, this is a scene from before the explosion. No, he's not walking towards rubble. This is Thursday evening, after he goes in to see Mr. Lancer and several hours before the incident. Next article will come probably later today. 


	5. Victems Found

**Amity Angle**

June 10th

_**Fenton Family Found**_

Victims of the Axion Labs explosion.

* * *

As of exactly two forty seven yesterday morning the first casualty of the explosion at the Axion Labs was uncovered. The victim was identified as sixteen year old Jasmine Fenton, daughter of the prestigious Jack and Maddie Fenton who were missing since Thursday evening. Moments later the bodies of her parents were found not far from her own.

The youngest Fenton, fourteen year old Daniel, was soon found under the collapsed glass wall separating the Phantom Virus from the scientists. Daniel was barely alive, crushed beneath glass and concrete. The air in the destroyed lab was deemed safe, despite the obvious contamination, but Daniel was diagnosed with a high level TPV infection and took several hours to be removed from beneath the glass, which formed a barrier between him and the unprotected rescue workers. He was later taken away by an airtight truck to the nearest quarantine facility, roughly twenty minutes away.

Miraculously he survived and is said to be in critical condition, but suffering no symptoms of the virus, something unheard of in TPV history. Three days is the longest anyone has ever survived after exposure. However the virus is not the only worry of the doctors, suited up and ready to do whatever possible for perhaps the only survivor of this catastrophic event. Daniel suffers multiple injuries, including a collapsed lung with a fair amount of bleeding in the one remaining and a fractured skull. The doctors predict heavy amounts of brain damage, and say it is unlikely he will wake.

Young billionaire Vladimir Masters, the third member of the original TPV scientists, arrived the previous evening and has been deemed by court Daniel Fenton's legal guardian until relatives can be notified.

* * *

A few more medical notes.

First off, I will like so say I know near to nothing about intracranial hemorrhage or cerebral hemorrhages. I know even less about pneumothorax. So if anyone would like to enlighten me on it (not from Google or Wikipedia please, I seem to get a million definitions and explanations from people who just copy and paste. I'm talking real life or book learned knowledge) please feel free.

I do, however, know both are potentially life threatening if left untreated, and (other than severe strokes) both occur after trauma to the area (blows to the chest cavity and skull) I would like to say, to those of you smarty pants jumping to ask, no he does not have a depressed skull fracture. (for those of you wondering, that's when a portion of his skull caves in a bit)

As you can see, due to his infection with TPV it would be far more difficult to operate on him, so that's what has the doctors and everyone else wringing their hands. You try doing neurosurgery is a hazmat suit.

Well, you try doing neurosurgery period.

Yes, yes if you're wondering there will be many, many notes like this throughout the story. It's kind of why we decided, in the end, to chop it up. We spent almost a year researching, editing, and revising this so it would be, in some way, factual. I worked hard on this, really, and I'm trying to make it understandable to readers who know nothing about this stuff. So if you're still confused, e-mail me and I'll see what I can do about revising.

I have five new medical books added to my library, which is win, but imagine my evening reading. I even headed down to the hospital and interviewed a few doctors. Put all that together with all my classes (Technical Physics II with Laboratory, Aerodynamics, Systems and Components, Domestic and International Navigation, and College Mathematics for Aviation II. I'm just glad I've got Aviation history, perhaps the easiest class in the bunch other than Electronic Flight Management Systems.)I'm pretty burned out. So unless you're studying law or surgery or something with an equal amount of crap as me, please don't tell me how much work you've got.

Now that you all have some insight into why it takes me five months to update my fics, next update is chapter one. Be happy, it will be coming probably next week.

Also, Strangest Things will be updated this Wednesday.


End file.
